So Pope Benedict visited the Western Wall yesterday and placed a pre-written message, words courtesy of the Vatican, between the cracks of the huge stones that make up the Wall. Messages placed at the Western Wall are prohibited from being published, or even looked at by the Wall’s custodians (unless you’re Barack Obama, then your prayer will be stolen and published by all and sundry), but this Papal visit is a special case (seeing as Pope Benedict probably has a direct line with the big man upstairs anyway).
So yes, we get to see Pope Benedict’s Western Wall prayer message:
“God of all the ages, on my visit to Jerusalem, the ‘City of Peace’, spiritual home to Jews, Christians and Muslims alike, I bring before you the joys, the hopes and the aspirations, the trials, the suffering and the pain of all your people throughout the world.
God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, hear the cry of the afflicted, the fearful, the bereft; send your peace upon this Holy Land, upon the Middle East, upon the entire human family; stir the hearts of all who call upon your name, to walk humbly in the path of justice and compassion. ‘The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him” (Lam 3:25)!’”
For more information about the Western Wall, see our guide to the ultimate destination on your trip to the Holy Land.